Shakin' All Over

While No Bunny's Tower Bar stop pulled some bodies from opener and second act Bare Wires and So Cow, once the Baths hit the stage it was getting crowded.

For Thee Oh Sees about 40 people thronged the stage, with another 20 to 30 throwing their hands up at the impossibility of penetrating the fervent crush. An Oh Sees virgin, my reaction was similar to the one I had upon first experiencing the Blasters: I immediately commenced screaming and gyrating as the band tore ravenously into almost everything Rock's ever smoked; an intuitive merging of the Yardbirds, "Shakin' All Over" (Manfred Mann), the Pixies circa Trompe Le Monde, Billy Lee Riley ("Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll"), Wire, and the Bryan-Gregory era Cramps.

Vox/guitarist/electronics whiz John Dwyer is a whirling onstage maniac (closest SW protagonist I've seen is Throw Rag's Captain Sean Doe). Dwyer's symbiotic connection with co-vox Brigid Dawson is part of the glue in one of those go-down-in-history units where you want to watch everyone -- bassist Petey Dammit and drummer Mike Shoun could give lessons in making a reactive, dynamic rhythm section look easy.

• Concert: Thee Oh Sees, So Cow, Bare Wires, The Baths
• Show date: March 12
• Venue: Bar Pink
• Seats: Right up front